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Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Psalm 15 is one of the
psalms attributed to David – though, as always, we should be careful with that “of
David.” The preposition can mean “for David” or “about David” or even “in the
style of David.” Based on the similarities
to verses Deuteronomy and Leviticus (and on a late date for those books) it is suggested
that this psalm was written after the Babylonian exile and that the reference to
the “tent/tabernacle” is purposefully archaic.

I like that Psalm 15
begins with the parallel questions, “LORD,
who may sojourn in your tent?” and
“who may dwell in your holy hill?”

It’s the word “sojourn” that gets me (and not just because it’s the name of one
of my favorite people from history – Sojourner Truth –of one of my favorite
magazines - Sojourners - and of one
of my favorite robots...) A sojourner is a person who is a temporary resident
of a place, a foreigner who has taken up residence in a place – someone who has
“no familial or tribal affiliation with those among whom he or she is
travelling or living.” (Spencer, 103) [i]
The Sojourner “is one who, having no inherited rights in a community, is
permitted to enjoy as a permanent guest, the privileges of membership in the
community. (Taylor and McCullough, 78)[ii]

This psalm does not begin
in a place of privilege. It is an act of
humility to read this psalm and to hear it, and to accept it. I am the
stranger, the foreigner. In this tent I
am immigrant – one of the wretched huddled among the masses, yearning to
breathe free.

The question is asked ‘Who may sojourn in the tent of Yahweh?” [iii]
And then an answer is given in the next several verses. Some have suggested that this is a “didactic
psalm” useful for teaching the people (Taylor and McCullough, 78). Others propose that it was a liturgical psalm
– perhaps sung call and response style between the priests and the people of
Israel. I like the idea of the Priestly
Choirmaster standing at the gates of the tabernacle or temple as the
worshipping crowd gathers and leading them in this psalm before they enter into
the courtyard. I don’t know that it
happened that way, but I like that idea.

The answer given in
response to the question takes the form of a new Decalogue, a new Ten Commandments of sorts:

1 - Walk with integrity
/ practice justice.
2 - Speak truth.
3 - Do not slander. [iv]
4 - Do no wrong to friends / fellow members of the community.
5 - Cast no slur on a neighbor.
6 - Recognize and regard vile, despicable, reprobate persons for what they are.
7 - Honor those who fear the LORD.
8 - Keep the promises you’ve made, even if it causes you hurt or loss.
9 – Don’t lend with usurious interest (especially to the poor).
10 – Don’t take bribes against the innocent.

My wife described this
as the “State Farm Insurance” guide to sojourning in God’s house – “like a good
neighbor.” These standards are all about
how to get along in a community. The
sins that are attacked are anti-social sins, the actions and attitudes that
destroy communities from within. Things
like slander and gossip have no place in a community of goodwill. Despicable, vile individuals should not be
celebrated or honored. And loans made to
the poor should not be charged interest; it does the community no good to make
the poor poorer than they already are.

What is striking about
this list of qualifications for sojourning in the tent of Yahweh is that they
are all ethical instructions. There are no ceremonial qualifications, and –
more astonishing – no creedal statements! There is no required “statement of faith” that the sojourner is
compelled to sign before being allowed entrance into this community.

The psalm ends with the
promise that the one who keep this code, who lives by these standards “will
never be moved.” That is a powerful statement – especially for the sojourner,
the stranger, the foreigner. The
sojourner in human societies lives with a constant threat of deportation and expulsion. The stranger is always the stranger, no
matter how long they’ve lived among us.
But the sojourner in God’s tent doesn’t need to have this worry. The sojourner in God’s tent, who lives
according to this code, is given a safe and secure place of refuge. Going back to those parallel questions in
verse one, “who may sojourn in the LORD’s tent?” is followed by “who may dwell on
his holy hill?” The verb “dwell” is more permanent. The sojourner moves from resident alien to naturalized
citizen.